


The Moment-Tom

by starbender



Series: Broken Beginnings [2]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Episode: s03e14 Alter Ego, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2016-10-14
Packaged: 2018-08-22 02:54:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8269948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starbender/pseuds/starbender
Summary: The moment  Tom realizes he is in love with B'Elanna





	

_Well, this isn’t what I had planned._

Who could have predicted that Vorik of all people would sweep B’Elanna away from the group with just a few word or that Harry would have issues because his favorite hologram dared speak to someone else? Tom didn’t even consider following Harry. He had done his best, and if his friend chose to remain stuck in some impossible infatuation he would just have to find his own way out.

Tom wasn’t used to standing alone at a party, but fortunately, that situation didn’t last long. One of the more attractive dancers came up to him, offering him a drink. She was a petite dark haired woman, one of Neelix’s creations. Things had not turned out the way he had intended, but talking to her was better than standing around alone looking like a reject. Her attentiveness was programmed, but at the moment that didn’t matter. They wandered off together through the crowd, settling for a random table. Sitting down, Tom gazed out over the beautiful vista of the ocean. Neelix had outdone himself.

His eyes swept through the crowd, noting with amusement how some of the most hardcore crew members turned into party animals once they were off duty, except for Tuvok of course, who was over there discussing who knows what with Marayna. Tom continued to take in all the sights and sounds when his casual observations came to a full stop, much to his own annoyance. He wouldn’t have sat down here if he had known this position gave him an unobstructed view of B’Elanna and Vorik, sitting at a table on the upper level. The location Vorik had picked out because B’Elanna liked it. Tom almost felt a pang of sympathy for her, being forced to spend the evening with the stuck up Vulcan, but it went away immediately. She knew this was supposed to be a group thing, and Tom had half expected her to wave the Vulcan off, the same way she had done when he himself had tried to find a way to be alone with her. Watching B’Elanna up there with Vorik made Tom feel empty.

The dancer, named Tiffany, was at that moment talking about Pacifica, a Federation water world. Humans liked to visit there because the amphibian inhabitants had an unusual attraction to them, similar to the way humans felt drawn toward Deltans. Once again, Tom gave Neelix props for doing his research. Water worlds were fascinating, so he let her talk.

Loud laughter pulled his attention. Someone had started a conga line and it was weaving in and out between the tables. Pulling his seat in to make room for them, Tom’s eyes went upward where he found himself staring straight at B’Elanna. She did look smashing. He could have spent the whole evening in her company. Tom wouldn’t have minded sharing her attention, as long as they were together. Their eyes stayed locked for a few moments before he looked away.

Any enthusiasm Tom might have felt for this outing drained out of him in that moment. B’Elanna preferred the company of a Vulcan to his. Vorik was handsome as Vulcans go, and he was an engineer, so they had that in common. It was still a bit strange. Tom knew from experience that Vulcans and Klingons normally avoided each other. Childhood of memories of being forced to attend too many diplomatic receptions resurfaced. He had often observed the smug superior way both species looked down on one another. What was amusing about it was those people were diplomats who were trying to be civil. But then, maybe, the two of them would beat the odds, if that was what B’Elanna wanted.

Then Tom considered the fact that she was also half human. Vorik had gone out of his way to find out her favorite place in the resort and he had not. Tom had created the Lake Como program and hadn’t even bothered to ask her if she liked sailing. Whatever it was he was doing, he was doing it wrong. Before, if a woman didn’t like his approach he would shrug it off and move on. Now he couldn’t.

The party, Tiffany’s friendly chatter, and the sound of the surf could not drown out the hard truth. Nothing he would do would ever impress B’Elanna. She was a lost cause, just as he realized she even was a cause. Even if Tom hadn’t known it at the time, all his attempts hadn’t been harmless flirtations. They had been real, but in the end, none of it mattered.

It was painfully obvious that nothing was ever going to come of this relationship except friendship, right at the moment when Tom realized he wanted more. He wouldn’t tell her of course, there was no need for her to know. It was a small ship, they had to work together. No sense in making things awkward. Tom drained his glass, made his apologies to Tiffany and left the holodeck.

 

After sitting down with Vorik, B’Elanna remembered the original conversation with him in engineering the other day. She had been distracted, giving him halfhearted answers. Looking back at the mostly one-sided discussion, she realized her words might have been taken in a way that she did not mean _. Damn it, stuck here with him is NOT the way I wanted to spend this evening!_

She watched Harry walk out in a huff leaving Tom alone. B’Elanna could have invited him to join them, but Tom would have found a way to take over the conversation, goading Vorik the same way he did Tuvok. One of the holographic dancers approached Tom with a drink and of course, he accepted. That left her feeling a bit unsettled, but with nothing else to do she turned back to her companion.

Vorik was a capable officer, handsome…and boring as hell. She could understand how some humans could be attracted to Vulcans and their ways but even if she were fully human she would not be one of them. Her Klingon side needed someone to push back. Vorik wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t see the logic in it. B’Elanna needed someone like...she wouldn’t let herself finish the thought.

The view from the upper patio was beautiful but B’Elanna’s eyes were drawn downward, to the table where Tom was sitting with the dancer. The holo- character appeared to be very chatty, but Tom was barely saying a word. _He’s probably angry at us. I can’t say that I blame him._ B’Elanna had teased Tom about his shirt, but it did look nice on him. She should have told him.

Someone was forming a conga line, and she watched in amusement as it weaved through the crowd, coming close to Tom’s table. He shifted his chair to get out of the way, causing his eyes to sweep upward and catch B’Elanna looking at him. There was no smile on his face, no sign of recognition, nothing. It was like he didn’t see her at all.

B’Elanna seethed on the inside at Tom’s obvious snub all the while attempting her best to be polite to Vorik. Her answers to his questions were short and clipped, almost rude but in his Vulcan way he didn’t seem to notice.

  
She made her excuses to Vorik and got up from the table, intent on going over to talk to Tom, to give an apology about how things had turned out with an explanation of how Vorik had just taken her by surprise. Before she got there, Tom whispered a few words to the dancer and without so much as a look around, left the holodeck.

 _What is the matter with him? It’s not my fault!_! A possible reason for his behavior slipped into her thoughts. _It couldn’t be. No, he was just upset that everyone had left him alone and he wasn’t the center of attention. That’s what that was all about. It couldn't possibly be anything else_

**Author's Note:**

> A big thank you to the members of Deck Nine for helping with this!


End file.
